Yesterday when I finally ventured out of our building for the first time since we got la grippe, this wooden box was on the sidewalk right outside the lobby door:
That little flower symbol on the left is the logo of the City of Montréal, so I was intrigued. The City has put hundreds of flower planters all over Montréal (as they do, quite wonderfully, each summer) but it seemed odd that this little one popped up overnight on our side street, just outside our door.
On closer examination, it looked to me like it had been dumped—full of weeds, though one little plant resembled chives. Seemed likely it was just being stowed before being replanted and moved elsewhere.
But this morning, voilà! The garden fairies had done some magic in the night:
The chives were still there, but were now joined by tomato plants, peppers, basil, a couple other herbs I couldn’t identify, all lovingly bedded with fresh potting soil.
Plus, a little sign:
The sign says: “Edible plants to enjoy/savor…Ville-Marie [our borough/official neighborhood in Montréal] offers you these sidewalk-eats. Help yourself and think about the next.”
I assume they mean, “the next person who might want some veggies” but I dunno. Maybe it means “think about your next meal and where it comes from” or “think about the next planter over, which might have strawberries” or “think about the next human era when global warming destroys mass agriculture and we have to grow all our food on sidewalks.”
Some things just don’t translate.
I find this city-sponsored surprise very sweet. I’ll be interested to see what happens—if people play nicely and share, or it gets swept clean of edible bits every night by some hoardy neighbor, or no one wants to touch it because they’re thinking of the next.